Research has shown that dogs have their own individual music taste, but one canine's eclectic preferences have left his owner scratching her head.
The dog, called Oscar, began by liking three songs and three songs only: "Love Yourself" by Justin Bieber, "U Can't Touch This" by MC Hammer and "Bitter Sweet Symphony" by The Verve. Despite all being hits, the songs don't appear to have that much in common.
Oscar sings along loudly to the three pieces, leaving his puzzled owner asking TikTok exactly what it is about them that he likes. "So my dog has decided that there are three songs that make him want to sing," she said.
To prove Oscar only sang along to those three tunes, she captured his reaction to different songs by the same singers. "Ghost" by Justin Bieber left "no reaction" with him continuing to sit on the sofa unaffected by the music. "Love Yourself" however made him perk up, looking at the camera before seemingly howling along.
"2 Legit 2 Quit" by MC Hammer similarly led to no reaction, but "U Can't Touch This" induced the loud howling sound. "There he goes," said the owner in the clip.
"Lucky Man" by The Verve was a failure, as Oscar sat back on the sofa next to his sister. "Bitter Sweet Symphony" instead left him howling along. "Arguably one of Oscar's favorite songs to sing," she explained.
After asking TikTok for a potential explanation, the general consensus among viewers was that all three songs seemed to be in E major, "so he might like tones and beats from that scale," commented one musically inclined user.
Oscar is certainly not the only dog with his own individual taste in music. A 2017 research paper published by the Scottish SPCA and the University of Glasgow found that music affects dogs' behaviour. Researched played different music to dogs at a rehoming centre and assessed the psychological and behavioural changes.
The dogs were played soft rock, Motown, pop, reggae and classical music, finding that they showed decreasing stress levels when played music, but especially soft rock or reggae.
Dogs Like Soft Rock and Reggae
Professor Neil Evans reported that although soft rock and reggae stood out against the others, each dog did have its own musical taste. "Overall, the response to different genres was mixed, highlighting the possibility that like humans, our canine friends have their own individual music preferences," he told the BBC.
Regardless of genre though, playing any form of music has a positive impact on the dogs, who spend more time lying and less time standing when the music is on.
Music fan Oscar is now facing his own study of sorts, as his owner attempts to whittle down exactly what he likes about the music.
In a follow up video, she played him a few suggestions from TikTok viewers, with Piano Man by Billy Joel and All of Me by John Legend proving successful.
"I think it's E ballad songs with pianos," suggested one user.
"I think the orchestra vibes might do it," noted another.
Uncommon Knowledge
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